Your mouth may pucker at the dryness and exposed and nearly naked scape you see.

The thing is- She needs time..

Her beauty and magic are not immediately revealed.

We all know the finest of revelations in life are slightly or hugely demanding to access

And absolutely never delivered to your very doorstep.

Appreciating New Mexico landscapes such as these has taught me to look closer, dig deeper, change my glasses or wait out the heat before I can get to those tiny pieces of ancient pottery or the dinosaur bone or night-blooming cactus or shiveringly silver night sky over-loaded with stars.

I use these skills in my life today as I travel the roads disability takes me down.

I find the subtle yet life-altering kindnesses which never take center stage but leave me with a divine fragrance which has great staying power.

I hear the ready and authentic “Good morning” from a stranger and it is clear he has also been touched by illness or hardship in some way and wants to let me know he SEES me.

Perhaps the raven’s big, black swoosh against the still air went unnoticed in my Michigander childhood. Likely so. But not now.

You hold my grateful soul so gently and well, dearest New Mexico.

You keep wearing costumes I have never seen and I shall tire not of the constant invitations you send me.

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New Mexico is beautiful. I almost moved to Taos years ago until I discovered that my MS and wood burning stoves and fireplaces did not agree with me. But it holds a special place in my heart still. One of my unpublished novels starts with my character hiking in the Taos area mountains. You made me think of that novel for the first time in a long time. Maybe I’ll go back and read it and see what I discover. Thanks.